December 29, 2015 Lunch at the Grande

We wanted to take Bob and Olivia out to lunch before we left.  They had a favorite Italian restaurant that has a $9.99 lunch buffet everyday.  We drove to Juno Beach, just north of North Palm Beach, to the Grande restaurant.  Everybody that worked there knew them by name.   It was wonderful!  They had mussels in a tomato sauce with calamari, 2 types of pasta, soup (a spinach with egg in chicken broth), salad bar, fruit, garlic knots and cheese pizza.  That would have been fine for us, but Olivia likes a special dish they make here and had it made for us to try.

Our waiter Mark had a special table to make this pasta.  They have a big parmesan cheese wheel that costs about $1200 and lasts about 4 months.  There is a section in the middle that has been hollowed out.  They pour brandy into the well and light it.  The warmth heats the cheese and softens it.  Then they add linguini that is already prepared and pull the softened cheese into the pasta.  Then it is plated with prosciutto and basil on top.  It was really unique and delicious.  Olivia thinks she can improvise and make this at home.  She loves to cook.

 
 

Of course, Bob wouldn’t let us pay for lunch, but at least we split the bill.  We’ll never be able to repay them for anything.  Bob took $20 of what we gave him and bought $20 worth of power ball numbers.  If he wins $3 million tonight with those numbers, he is going to share with us :))

Back at their boat, we played 3 games of Chase the Ace where you only lose $1 per hand, and the winner gets $4.  Olivia won twice and Bob once.  So I guess we were able to pay them back a little bit :)